The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus including a sheet reversing mechanism which performs a process such as printing on the obverse surface of a sheet, and subsequently performs a process such as printing on the reverse surface of the sheet.
Conventionally, a sheet-fed offset rotary printing press including a sheet reversing mechanism which prints on the obverse surface of a sheet, and subsequently prints on the reverse surface of the sheet upon turning the sheet has been proposed. The conventional sheet-fed offset rotary printing press equipped with a reversing mechanism includes a first printing unit which prints on the obverse surface of a sheet, a second printing unit which is arranged adjacent to the first printing unit and prints on the reverse surface of the sheet, and a sheet reversing unit which turns the sheet in the interval between the first and second printing units. With such an arrangement, one printing press is capable of single- and double-sided printing.
However, the above-mentioned conventional sheet-fed offset rotary printing press equipped with a reversing mechanism is independently provided with a first printing unit which prints on the obverse surface of a sheet, and a second printing unit which prints on the reverse surface of the sheet, so the entire printing press occupies a large space and has a large size.